I signed a contract with an online electronic publisher on a novella-length fiction manuscript. It is located in Georgia--I am in Arkansas. Its "editorial staff" inserted myriad embarrassingly awful, even hilarious, mistakes into the work. I have published this novella several times previously, it had already been edited professionally, was multiple-times certified free of typos, and the novella was an Amazon bestseller for a time, a few years ago. Nevertheless, this time around, with this ebook publisher, commonly known expressions like "riding to hounds" was changed to "riding WITH hounds," and present tense sections in diary entries were changed to past tense, as absurd as "My name is Shelly" changed to "My name WAS Shelly." Punctuation alteration was arbitrary, without pattern, the only goal seeming to be "just change all the punctuation," creating a mess I could barely read. Brand names were stripped on the supposition that the publisher could be sued for mentioning "Dodge Viper" in a neutral but necessary description. Even "Nancy Drew" was changed to "juvenile mysteries" in the author's description of the heroine's lifelong love of mystery novels, ruining a point and creating a redundancy.

It took me two days to go through it all. I was given one opportunity to look it over, saw the mess, reviewed it from beginning to end and then attempted to discuss, going to great effort providing links to professional writing, grammar, and usage websites that support my position. The publisher herself stepped in instantly, cutting off discussion, ordering me to return the manuscript as "approved by me" whether I approve or not, for release. It was CORRECT as edited, and would be published that way! Nothing I had tried to say was addressed, except to be brushed aside in swift scorn as a non-issue.

I looked them up around the web and found an authors' help site managed by a famous writer, with a slew of major complaints about this publisher, including "Arrogant mischief," even refusal to pick up certified mail from authors whose contracts had expired, keeping their books up at the website for sale, or taking them down but refusing to conclude the relationship as "seemingly promised" in the contract terms. Just pure autocracy, and plumb hatred toward authors who spot their mistakes and raise questions. The publisher offers hundreds of "ebook" mostly "erotic" romances from beginning authors, all of whom are starry eyed, deliriously content, and blissfully unaware of mistakes that are no worse than their own.

Next, I sought help from a popular "author-beware" type of website. The founder (a published writer, not a lawyer) looked at the contract and reported to me that the wording allows the publisher to do anything it wants, make any changes, correct or not. Also, her interpretation is that the contract is without end. My own understanding on signing, from reading carefully, was that the contract lasts five years, and that only DEMONSTRABLY INCORRECT things in the manuscript can be changed without the author's final approval.

Now I don't know where to turn, but seems crazy to start shelling out for a lawyer just because another, admittedly more successful, writer claims I am bound to a nightmare contract and have no options here. I simply don't read it that way, and am concerned that this helpful writer who manages this website might be (inadvertently) more concerned with confirming nightmares than with objectivity.

Here is the section from the contract on changes to the work: "(c)If, upon inspection of the final draft of the work, the Publisher finds that the author has failed to correct any errors, whether these are in the nature of grammar, usage, punctuation, logic or anything whatsoever that would be interpreted clearly as an error, the Publisher reserves the right to correct all such errors without further consultation with the author."

My last word to the publisher was a determination that we had come to an obvious standstill. I would not approve the current changes--she would not reconsider or even adress them. Therefore, I judged, the publisher could not go forward. She could try and sue me. I could do likewise. Neither of us, I suggested, were much interested in war for the sake of war, but if it came to it, I would definitely go there next. My desire is that the horribly edited book NEVER show up "published" at their website. I made this clear. She in turn made it "clear" that I had better not try to sell the manuscript anywhere else.

Her emails were snide and abusive. I was forced to end email contact, as she refused to do other than "tell me off" over and over, and make threats that seemed to greatly amuse her. I wish I could show you her spelling in these emails--but they are beside the point.

Hope somebody here can help me out a little! I am in a bad way since getting that "contract analysis" from the kind published author who, I feel, is not interpreting the contract correctly. But she scared me really bad.

I understand how this is a frustrating situation for you. What you need to do is speak with an attorney that can go over the entire contract and give you some legal options. From what you posted, it seems to say that they can only make changes that are clearly in error. You can locate an attorney through the attorney locator on Lawinfo's home page at http://www.lawinfo.com/. Some do offer free consultations. I am sorry that I can't give you more of an answer, but you really will do better speaking with a licensed attorney.

Thank you! What had me scared was what the writer from the author beware site said. I lost a lot of sleep! Then I calmed down and began to doubt her. It made no sense! At least you have read it the same way I did. I will try and get some legal help. But you helped my state of mind!